Geo: -35.5026, 138.785Borrowing Marie's car, the four of us drove south east of Adelaide to Goolwa on the Fleurieu peninsula. Here Mark has a drop zone at Goolwa Airpark for those who want to go sky diving. We were there however for the Warbird flight. The plane is a single engine CJ 6 A Fighter, a real Biggles job with pilot in front and passenger behind. Zoran the lovely handsome Croatian pilot explained all the manoeuvres the plane could do before kitting the passenger (me first) out in a parachute (just in case but hopefully never used). Out on the tarmac Mark films the whole episode of getting into the plane, which involves clambering onto the wing and swinging over the side onto the seat. There are also cameras on the plane filming the trip so ... read more

Geo: -34.3333, 150.917The transfer from Chiang Mai to Sydney via Bangkok was painless and we even sailed through the Australian Immigration system and were allowed to bring in the wooden bowl which we had bought in Chiang Mai as a present for Helen. A car took us to Bulli where Helen and Wildy live high on the escarpment. At least there is no chance of flooding where they live. Lots of places locally have been flooded because of the wettest summer ever. Our first day however was sunny so in the evening we were able to go to Wollongong Botanical Gardens and watch a production of Twelfth Night while picnicking on the grass- excellent entertainment.Lunch the following day after a shopping expedition, was at the Harbour side restaurant in Wollongong to which we have been before ... read more

Geo: 18.8, 98.98We were tired out by the time we reached Chiang Mai having taken 3 flights. However the Emirates First Class was worth it even though we had to change at Dubai on the way to Bangkok. At Dubai airport Tiz had a complimentary foot massage in the lounge. The suites on board the plane were spacious with a 25" TV screen, vanity case, personal bar and comfy flat bed. There was even a bar you could go to and stand at so with all these facilities not much sleep was had and hence we were tired! The transfer from Bangkok to ChiangMai was straight forward with no waiting and there was a car waiting to take us to the Dhara Dhevi Mandarin Oriental, which is my favourite hotel in the world and this was ... read more

Geo: 36.4044, 25.3959The following morning the ship moored off Santorini and I went on a hike up the volcano whilst the others went into town. At the top of the volcano there was heat and some smoke coming out but no lava as it is not very active at the moment. I was glad I had worn my hiking boots and taken a walking stick. Most of the others were in trainers and ended up with shoes full of stones. I had made that mistake on a previous trip up Mount Etna. Unfortunately I had forgotten to take my swimming gear as part of the trip was a swim from the small sailing boat which had taken us over to the volcano. And as it was very hot that would have been good.As it was last ... read more

Geo: 39.6178, 19.9196After a week of total indulgence we were all feeling worse for wear when the ship pulled into Corfu. The result of this meant a much curtailed visit which is a shame because I am sure it has lot to offer. We did manage to visit the Museum of Asian Art which has some beautiful objects in it and it is peaceful, cool and far from the madding crowd. We looked at the Old Fort from the entrance and decided that it would be too much effort to climb up, so apart from a regulation beer in the colonnade that was Corfu for us.... read more